Ep. 17 Hugh Sheridan on living without labels, the price of fame and seeking the Hugh-man he wants to be.

You might think you know Hugh Sheridan.

A four time Logie-award winning actor who’s played starring roles on shows like House Husbands and Packed To The Rafters, he is also the Number 1 Ticketholder for the Port Adelaide FC, and spends his time living and working between homes in LA and Sydney. 

He’s also an accomplished international jazz singer, ballet dancer, film director, screenwriter and passionate human rights advocate.

But what you might not know is that there is a deeper, hidden, vulnerable - and very human - side to Hugh Sheridan, which he now wants to share publicly. 

In this episode of Human Cogs, hosts Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet chat with Hugh about his lonely childhood; his engagement at the young age of 17 to a woman; his early experiences at NIDA where he then fell passionately in love with a man; and his ongoing quest to assert the need to not be defined by labels, but instead, by the whole and compassionate human he is.

Hugh believes that we have become too focussed on unhelpful and binary definitions of who we are across the facets of our lives, and invites us all to challenge the way we talk to each other, to move towards a more accepting and united view of humanity, without bias and the impact of boxing each other in.

He also reveals the drawbacks of fame and living life in the public spotlight; and a life-changing moment in India when he came face to face with himself as an infant, small child, adult and ageing man, and was finally able to accept himself as the boy he was, man he is, and human he seeks to be.

What he does know is that you don't need a star on Hollywood Boulevard to say that you are someone, and that it’s now time for Hugh to sit in his own skin, accept himself, and as George Michael once said to him: “Just sing what you want to sing.”

This isn't a story about sexuality, but rather about accepting ourselves as we truly are, and wanting others to do the same.

Enjoy our conversation with the very Hugh-man, Hugh.

Hosts: Sabina Read and Madeleine Grummet
Producer: Daryl Missen at Purple Wax

Human Cogs is available on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts or via our website.

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